HB 282 — An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, in public assistance, further providing for persons eligible for medical assistance.

PRINTER'S NO.    225

                      THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                          HOUSE BILL
                          No. 282
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY BRIGGS, WAXMAN, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, KHAN,
        SCHLOSSBERG, GIRAL, KENYATTA, CERRATO, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ,
        McNEILL, CARROLL, KINKEAD AND KAZEEM, JANUARY 22, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JANUARY 22, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
 2      act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
 3      welfare laws of the Commonwealth," in public assistance,
 4      further providing for persons eligible for medical
 5      assistance.
 6       The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 7   hereby enacts as follows:
 8       Section 1.    Section 441.1(c) and (d) of the act of June 13,
 9   1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, are
10   amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
11   read:
12       Section 441.1.    Persons Eligible for Medical Assistance.--* *
13   *
14       (c)   Except as [provided under subsection (a)(4) and (5)]
15   otherwise provided in this section, upon notification of
16   incarceration, the department shall temporarily suspend[, for a
17   period of not more than two years,] medical assistance for a
18   recipient who becomes incarcerated in a correctional
19   institution. The suspension of medical assistance shall cease
 1   and the recipient shall continue to receive medical assistance
 2   upon notification of an inmate's release from the correctional
 3   institution, subject to the eligibility requirements under the
 4   Commonwealth's approved Title XIX State Plan.
 5      (d)     Notwithstanding subsection (c), upon [notification from
 6   a correctional institution of an inmate's release and] the
 7   department's receipt of an inmate's application, the department
 8   shall determine the inmate's eligibility for medical assistance.
 9   Except as provided under [subsection] subsections (a)(4) and (5)
10   and (e) and to the extent consistent with Federal law, medical
11   assistance may not be provided until the date of the inmate's
12   release.
13      (e)     Notwithstanding subsections (c) and (d) and subject to
14   Federal approval, beginning January 1, 2026, the department is
15   authorized to establish a reentry program under the medical
16   assistance program for recipients who are incarcerated in a
17   correctional institution, according to the following:
18      (1)     The reentry program shall, at a minimum, provide
19   eligible recipients access to the following:
20      (i)     Substance use disorder treatment and case management
21   services prior to release from a participating correctional
22   institution.
23      (ii)     A thirty-day supply of medication upon release from a
24   participating correctional institution.
25      (2)     A county may request to have its county correctional
26   institution participate in the reentry program, according to the
27   following:
28      (i)     The request to participate must be on a form and contain
29   the information as the department prescribes.
30      (ii)     The application to the department must be adopted by a

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 1   majority vote of the governing body and transmitted to the
 2   department accompanied by the signature of the chairperson of
 3   the board of commissioners and attested by the chief clerk of
 4   the county or, in the case of a home rule county, by the
 5   equivalent consistent with the provisions of the county charter.
 6      (3)     The department may approve a county's request under
 7   paragraph (2) based on capacity of the program and the county's
 8   plan to provide reentry services. In reviewing the county's
 9   plan, the department shall, at a minimum, consider the
10   following:
11      (i)     The county's readiness and capacity to provide reentry
12   services.
13      (ii)     The county's plan to provide information to the
14   department for suspension and reactivation of medical assistance
15   for recipients.
16      (iii)     Demonstrated support from the county's criminal
17   justice collaborative or criminal justice advisory board.
18      (iv)     Demonstrated commitment and cooperation by the county
19   correctional institution and its employed or contracted
20   providers of health care services to participate in the reentry
21   program.
22      (4)     A county's participation in the reentry program is
23   voluntary.
24      (5)     The department may continue to accept applications under
25   this subsection from nonparticipating counties on an annual
26   basis.
27      Section 2.     This act shall take effect immediately.




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